Okay, first…Breathe.  It’s okay, relax…let’s review.

* Don’t worry when you read ….”appears serviceable”

What does that mean?   Sounds like “needs work” but actually it means from brand new to works fine.  No problem there.

* Another scary phrase is “Hire a licenced qualified professional”

Again, relax, this does not mean “watch out the house might fall down!!”  It would mean, if this is item concerns you, the inspector is not qualified to give you more info for liability purposes.  If some base board needs caulk, it’s probably safe to say you don’t have to contact a general contractor, ask a handy man.  Now, if there is water leaking out of the light fixtures…okay that would be a little more serious.  

Take each item into consideration, ask friends or family members what they think about the report and most importantly, talk to you Realtor about your options/recommendations.  Sleep on it, you don’t have to make any rash decision right away, just give it some time.  Take the inspection to the house and walk around seeing the items mentioned yourself.

Click here to read article “Don’t freak out when you get back inspection results”

* My Suggestion to sellers:

When you are about to put your home on the market get a “pre-home inspection” done on your house.  They typically are less than $300.00 but this is a great value being that it could save a deal involving thousands of dollars from falling through.  You will already have a good idea of any issues that might scare a buyer off and you can make any appropriate changes before hand.  Do keep in mind that different inspectors might find different items.

If you have any other questions about the home buying process, feel free to email me or give us a call at the office.  We are happy to help!

Thanks for reading.

Shaheen Hangval
Broker Associate/EcoBroker with Blue Ribbon Properties

835 Main Ave. Suite # 214
Office: 970-247-8388 Fax: 970-247-8360
Shaheen’s Cell: 970-769-2441

As most of you might know, Durango is a snowy mountain town and some people deal with tons of snow in different ways.  Some love it, others get what’s known as “cabin fever”.  This is an overwhelming feeling of needing to get out of the house! 

Well, Snowdown was created as a way to deal with the cabin fever.  It’s basically a week long celebration, where there are fun events hosted all week long throughout the town.  Even if you don’t want to participate in the events themselves they are all entertaining to watch! So get out of your snow surrounded house and come have a good time downtown!!!

This year’s theme…Surf’s up, life’s a beach!!!

Check out the website to see all the events click here to see Snowdown website

Here are some of the events I will personally be attending or competing in…

* The polar BEER plunge – where people jump into a giant pool of beer that has been sitting outside in the cold for days!!!

* The high-five competition

* The follies – a live performance with tons of local humor and funny skits!

* The do’s and don’t fashion show, showing off Durango’s horrible sense of fashion.

* The beard growing competition - to see who can grow the best beard in town.

* The Friday big parade down Main!

* The arm-wrestling competition at the Wild Horse

…And much, much, more!

Shaheen Hangval
Broker Associate/EcoBroker with Blue Ribbon Properties

835 Main Ave. Suite # 214
Office: 970-247-8388 Fax: 970-247-8360
Shaheen’s Cell: 970-769-2441

2010 Real Estate forecast for Durango – Positive
After speaking to lenders, investors, other realtors and looking over statistics all signs point to the positive.  We have already seen an increase in sales, things are getting better. 2010 will be a great year! For more updates subscribe to our blog, The Scoop on Durango Real Estate.

Wishing you and your family a Happy Holiday season and a new year of health, happiness and prosperity

Cheers!

Claudia Williams, Shaheen Hangval, Bruce Campbell and Stacy Engle
 
P.S. Join me in donating to sponsor a child to go to day care (playschool) in Africa, Masipumulele township outside of Cape Town, South Africa. My sister, Nicola Stehlik Nangle, runs a non-profit called Work for Love and they need our help to open the school this January. Click here for more info.  Thank you.

When I first moved to Durango I immediately checked out the music venues and the Arts scene.  Even to this day I find myself attending any and almost all music shows, film festivals and art expos ~ but I have noticed a change in the last couple of years.

* Durango is moving on up in the music and art world!

(Click on any of the highlighted words to visit their home website)

* The annual Durango film festival is getting bigger and bigger each year, sold out shows and great films.

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*The Durango Arts center is now putting on more performances, such as the most recent Salt Fire Circus with all local performers.

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*The Hank theater at the Strater is hosting all kinds of events, including this Halloween’s live performance of the Rock Horror Picture show!

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* The Abbey theater is hosting bigger names for music.  Just last week I went to see Stephen and Julian Marley at The Abby for $25.00!  Wow, being that it is such a small venue, I was lucky enough to get to meet the band!

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…and this is just to name a few recent fun events…

I like where this town is going!  It keeps me entertained and I feel all ages and interests can find something fun to do in this great town!

* Check out the local independent paper The Telegraph for weekly events.

As always, thanks for reading, call or email us for any questions!

–
Shaheen Hangval
Broker Associate/EcoBroker with Blue Ribbon Properties

835 Main Ave. Suite # 214
Office: 970-247-8388 Fax: 970-247-8360
Shaheen’s Cell: 970-769-2441

Zia Taqueria’s Fresh Mex

This is probably one of my favorite “quick stops”.  If I have a client I am driving around and we need a fast lunch or if it’s 7:30 pm and I really don’t feel like making dinner…Zia is my answer.
Located at 3101 Main Ave. on the West side of the street.
100% kid friendly and great food made fast.
Expect to spend around $10 a person, $5.00 for kids.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when a Mexican restaurant doesn’t have good, fresh salsa, your salsa is you staple and foundation. With that said, Zia has great choices in salsas! From the mild avocado tomatillo to the truly HOT mango habanero, you won’t be let down!

The menu consists of items such as burritos, tacos, quesadillas with daily changing specials such as enchiladas, chili rellenos etc. On this visit I had the ever-so-delicious Mahi Mahi fish tacos, Baja style with added cilantro pesto dressing ($8.50). The Mahi is grilled which takes about 7-10 mins extra ~ but well worth wait. Tempura fried Cod ($6.50) is an option too and cooks a little faster.  Beef, chicken or pork is already on the line ready to go.

Looking for a healthier choice? Get meat or fish in a salad bowl instead of a tortilla. This is a great way to still get plenty full and feel like you are not having to make a big sacrifice.

Don’t want the meat? Grilled veggies (zucchini, squash, corn and peppers) are an option!

This is a line, counter service set up, meaning you go through the line while they make your meal with your custom choices of ingredients and toppings. The set up and design of this restaurant is genius for consistency in quality and taste as well as efficient food production.

Great friendly atmosphere with a semi-contemporary design, well decorated with some traditional Mexican pieces and some local art.  A comfortable but fun “new age” setting.

Feel free to comment on this review.

Last week Claudia and I decided to go on a 5 day river trip.  We all know there is no cell phone reception on the river and no practical way to be contacted…perfect. We had a good amount of support back at the office covering our business so we packed up and headed for the rio!

The Salt River in Arizona was the river of choice.  We applied for permits and were selected for the days we requested.  There was word that the water might be too low but we took a chance and went for it anyway.  What a beautiful get away.  We had a small group, 5 people and 2 boats.  The river was amazing, each day we were taken away by beautiful desert landscapes, unique rock formations and splashed by fun rapids.  We lucked out with good weather conditions and the water was never too low.  The rapids were from class II up to Class IV which was pretty adventurous at moments and kept things pretty exciting.  Between the big rapids there was flat water and a few little riffles that set a really nice pace.  Each night we enjoyed a big dinner and campfire under the stars.  All in all it was a great vacation and completely necessary.  After 5 wonderful days it was time to get back to the office.  It was easy to jump right back into the flow at the office but this trip was a great reminder of why can’t loose sight of why we work so hard.

What a great to kick off this year’s rafting season.  There are closer rivers that can be day trips or even hour trips.  The Dolores River is just a little over an hour away from Durango and the Animas River runs right through town.  In the middle of summer I jump on the ‘town run’ down the Animas right after work.  Put in at 32nd street at 4:30 pm and take out over by Walmart by 6:30 pm and still have time to make dinner!

by Shaheen

Video of Smelter Rapid in Durango:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hN8cI6LcGk